This month, MCLS Executive Director Scott Garrison interviews Jake Speer, Indiana State Librarian, and Randy Riley, Michigan State Librarian. Jake, Randy, and Scott discuss how libraries have adapted during the pandemic, questions that remain, and some hopes and plans for the future.
- 0:34 – What’s the best thing that came out of 2020 for you and your respective state libraries?
- 2:27 – What has surprised or heartened you about how libraries have responded during the pandemic?
- 4:20 – What keeps you and your staff motivated, despite all of the obstacles of the last year?
- 7:48 – How do you see libraries and their services potentially changing as we move to a post-pandemic future?
- 12:05 – What are some frequently asked questions you or your staff are hearing from libraries so far in 2021?
- 15:37 – What might be some questions you wish libraries would ask?
- 17:38 – What are your plans as vaccines continue to become more widely available? What might some next steps be that you’re taking?
- 26:02 – What are your greatest hopes and biggest plans for 2021 and beyond (whether already identified pre-pandemic, or newly on your mind)?
- 30:55 – What might be some of the biggest barriers in the way to achieving those things?
- 33:53 – What’s the most thought-provoking thing you’ve read recently?
Public Libraries and the Pandemic
American vanguard : the United Auto Workers during the Reuther years, 1935-1970 - 38:06 – What else might you like to say today to the library staff who watch this interview?
